Last week, I had mentioned that "someone" would be along to explain, in plain(er) English, what was published December 15, 2008, in the medical journal Circulation, regarding ezetimibe (the main active agent in Schering's Zetia -- and the agent coupled with a statin in Schering's Vytorin).
The results were decidedly not pretty. Take a look at the quoted snippets, below, but do go read Marilyn Mann's whole note, over at Gooznews.
. . . .Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process, and some of the benefits of statins are thought to be related to their ability to reduce inflammation. A study by James K. Liao and colleagues published online December 15 in Circulation raises questions as to whether ezetimibe lacks these antiinflammatory effects. Statins reduce production of cholesterol in the liver by inhibiting an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase (see diagram, at upper-right, click it to enlarge -- a cholesterol molecule is depicted in the background of the image), and inhibiting this enzyme also reduces production of rho kinase, a substance that increases vascular inflammation. By contrast, ezetimibe works by reducing cholesterol absorption in the intestines. Although ezetimibe lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol, it does not reduce production of rho kinase (and in fact may increase it). . . .
The authors conclude that the findings of their study may help explain the disappointing results of the ENHANCE study, in which ezetimibe did not alter the progression of atherosclerosis when added to a statin. . . .
[Emphasis supplied.]
Indeed. Background, here. Now, I'll be off-the-grid for a while -- celebrating a belated Winter Solstice, and such. Namaste,to all of good will.
2 comments:
Peace to you and yours~
and a Healthy and Happy New Year
Thanks for linking to my post, and have a great holiday!
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